


Something You Would Never Know

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV), Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Emotional, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-16 03:24:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1330096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They've been together for so long that they forget that some people don't know about it.<br/>A couple of days in Cardiff, a new cast member, a welcoming team and the boys in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something You Would Never Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LenaMania](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenaMania/gifts).



> I just felt like writing some Brolin so I did. None of it is true, and while resemblance to any living persons are intended, this is purely a product of my imagination. 
> 
> And it's for LenaMania because, duh, reasons.

Bradley followed Katie and Eoin back to where the others were standing around a raised wooden table, smiling as the three of them handed out the drinks in their hands. It was Tom’s first day of shooting after he joined the cast as a knight in the third season. The cast wanted him to feel welcome, so they’d all decided to take him out to dinner after filming and for a round of drinks after. Julian, Antony and Jemma (from make-up) left after dinner, leaving Alice, their director for the current block of filming, with ‘the kids’ for drinks. Bradley, Katie and Eoin offered to get the drinks while Colin, Tom, Rupert, Angel, Adetomiwa, Santiago and Alice found themselves a nice big round table.

Colin was smiling and listening very intently to something Alice was telling him as Bradley approached the table. _Always the director’s pet_ , Bradley chuckled to himself as he reached out to hand Santiago and Angel their drinks, and then made his way around the table next to Colin. His forearm brushed Colin’s elbow lightly as he settled his beer on the table. Colin didn’t look up, still engrossed in his conversation with Alice, but Bradley felt the familiar, comforting pressure of Colin’s hand on the small of his back. He leaned back slightly into the touch, finding an odd sense of calm settle over him when the hand didn’t retract.

He turned his attention to Tom. Despite being his first day of shooting, he seemed to be getting along really well. It probably helped that his first day involved scenes with almost everyone at the table tonight. Rupert was being especially nice, if it was possible for him to be nicer than he already was, and was trying to save Tom from the combined evil of Eoin and Katie. They were both on either side of him, touching his arms and attempting to outdo each other in flirting with him.

Bradley laughed along with the others, and Colin, probably finished with his very intellectual conversation with Alice, turned to look at him before shifting his attention to the rest of the table. Their eyes met for a brief moment, in which Colin’s hand shifted along his back to hold his waist in a quick grip, before letting go. Bradley smiled contentedly and took another gulp of his beer.

‘Absolutely not, I stake claim on this one’, Katie said, gripping Tom’s sleeve. Everyone turned to look at her, including Tom, who looked slightly afraid for his life.

‘Angel’s snogged ALL the men on the show! _All_ of them - I get to keep this one.’

Everyone laughed as Angel gagged on her rum and coke.

‘I have not snogged _all_ the men on the show, Katie.’

‘You’ve snogged every man around this table’, Katie accused, her eyebrows raised.

‘No, I haven’t. Tomiwa plays my _brother_ , for crying out loud’.

‘Well, Arthur is Morgana’s brother, that didn’t stop them trying a romance angle in the beginning’, Katie scoffed.

‘And I have not snogged Rupert or Eoin. And I’m sure they won’t make me snog Tom. Not that I wouldn’t do it if they wanted me to. I mean… oh god, sorry Tom, I didn’t mean I didn’t want to snog you… Wow, okay, I’ll just stop talking now’, Angel finished, and tried to hide herself behind Rupert as everyone laughed.

‘You’re snogging Bradley tomorrow, Angel’, Alice helpfully reminded the table, as Eoin, Katie and Santiago cat-called and Angel turned steadily redder.

‘I don’t understand why Arthur is in love with her - Gwen is such a hussy’, Bradley teased her.  

‘And she’s going to steal my throne’, Katie added. ‘Honestly, Bradley - this production is really unfair to us both’.

‘ _And_ I’ll steal Arthur’s throne one of these days when he’s off on a quest or something and marry Gwen. The show really is about Leon after all’, Rupert said, shrugging.

‘Mate, you haven’t got the hair for a crown’, Eoin quipped.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and then a murmur of agreement broke out over the table.

‘Well, it’s true’, Tomiwa said. ‘Macken’s hair IS the hero of the show - even the Great Dragon would concur’.

‘Well, this has been an eye-opener. Who’d like another drink? This round is on me, as a thank you for you all being wonderful to me today’, Tom said with a smile.

Colin turned to Bradley with an expression that Bradley understood to mean _it’s late and we should be heading back now_ , so he leaned in and said, ‘Stay for this round. It’s his first day - we’ll head back after this.’

‘Colin?’ Tom asked.

Colin nodded slightly at Bradley before turning to Tom and declining another drink.

‘I’ll pass - ridiculously early call tomorrow morning’, he said, smiling politely.

‘Sorry about that’, Alice said, apologetically. ‘Well if Colin’s got an early call, it means I have an early call, but oh why not, I’ll have another beer’, she added to a round of applause and cheers from everyone.

Bradley’s hand found Colin’s under the table and he laced their fingers together.

*******

Half an hour later, after more drinking and teasing, and Tom feeling like he’d been part of the group since the beginning, Colin pushed back from the table.

‘Yeah we better get going now’, Bradley said, recognising the hint.

‘Yeah I think I’ll leave too’, Angel said, Alice nodding in agreement.

‘You all have fun, but get some rest though. We have some heavy days coming up’, Alice reminded them.

‘I’ll come with you guys’, Santiago said.

‘Well, I guess we better all leave then. Plus it’s warm outside - it’ll be good for a walk at this time’, Rupert suggested, looking expectantly at Eoin, Katie, Tom and Tomiwa. They all nodded their assent, and slowly picked up their coats and trudged outside. Their hotel at Cardiff was only a ten-minute walk away from the pub. Once outside, the cool night breeze hitting their faces, they all split into twos and threes. Alice walked ahead with Angel, Katie with Rupert and Tomiwa, Santiago and Eoin with Tom and then Bradley and Colin.

Bradley soon realised that Colin was walking slower than the rest in order to fall back behind them. He grinned, and shifted more into his side as they strolled to their hotel.

‘How was your day?’ Bradley asked softly.

Colin smiled at him, smiled the smile he only reserved for Bradley, in the moments when he realised and felt it in his very bones how much Bradley loved him. His chest swelled with an inexplicable feeling, every time it hit him how much the man next to him was the most genuine person he’d ever met, how considerate and thoughtful he was, and how, despite his apparent boisterousness and loud presence, he never spoke out of turn, or disrespect. Respect mattered to Colin, and he respected Bradley very much, for the man he knew him to be.

‘It was alright. I killed some bad guys today’, he said, turning to face Bradley with a serious expression.

Bradley couldn’t help but let his mouth curve into a smile.

‘Did you, now? What did they do to you?’

They stopped walking.

‘Well, I was told they were out to kill you. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, and mumbled Old English at them’, Colin replied, face still perfectly serious.

‘I’m glad you did’, Bradley said as he gripped the collar of Colin’s jacket, leaned in close and kissed him. Colin’s arms came around Bradley’s waist as Bradley’s hands reached for Colin’s face and stroked his jaw lightly. They broke apart after a moment, though unwillingly, and Bradley nipped at Colin’s nose before shifting away.

When they turned back to walk, they stopped in their tracks as they realised Tom was looking at them, his expression changing from shock to realisation. For a moment, Colin froze as Bradley’s brain went blank, realising that Tom hadn’t known. They looked at him for a moment, hands still entwined, and then Tom smiled slightly and nodded at them. Santiago, who’d witnessed the whole scene, nudged Tom slightly and then urged him to keep walking. Bradley felt Colin take a deep breath next to him.

*******

Bradley was already inside the covers on Colin’s bed when Colin came out of the shower in a thin cotton shirt and pyjamas. Shower-wet hair Colin was the Colin Bradley loved most - with his hair sticking out at odd angles, the stray water droplet glistening against his neck and Colin smelling of something resembling a vague mixture of wet wood and wine. Colin walked to the far wall to turn off the overhead light and then walked to the bed in the cosy warmth of the bedside lamp. Bradley lifted himself up on one elbow as he felt the mattress dip when Colin sat on the bed.

‘Hey’, Colin said softly, reaching out a hand to stroke his long fingers against Bradley’s bare torso.

‘Hey’, Bradley replied. He looked at Colin a moment, and then said, ‘You know it’s okay, right?’

Colin smiled slightly as he nodded.

‘Yeah. Yes. I like Tom. He’s a good person’.

‘Come here’, Bradley said.

Colin stretched himself out and fit himself against Bradley’s side, settling his head in the nook between Bradley’s shoulder and neck, after lightly pressing a soft kiss to his collarbone. Colin loved everything about Bradley, but he was sure the collarbones would be his undoing. He shifted his hand and traced his fingers lightly around their shape, pressing lightly against the jut. He felt Bradley leaning in and inhaling him, felt his fingers against his back through the layer of cotton.

‘I like him too. And I trust him. Besides, I think we should just talk to him about it - it wasn’t his fault we sprung it on him like that’, Bradley said wisely.

Colin mumbled something incoherently against his shoulder.

‘Col?’

‘Mm. Tired’, Colin said softly as he shifted himself more comfortably onto Bradley. He could hear the soft thudding of Bradley’s heart against his chest, and he moved closer to the sound, gently drifting into sleep against it’s regularity.

Bradley smiled and twisted slightly to turn off the bedside lamp. He pulled the covers over them both and fell asleep before he could spare another thought about Tom.

*******

At lunch the next day, Colin’s eyes searched for Tom in the crowd. He didn’t have any scenes with him and therefore hadn’t seen him all day. His eyes finally rested on Eoin, Rupert and Tom sitting at a table in the far corner, and he made his way to them.

‘Colin, my man!’ Eoin cried, his eyes smiling with genuine warmth as Colin sat down next to Rupert at the table. Tom, like the previous night, nodded at him and smiled. Colin could sense his awkwardness. He decided to take the direct route and not beat about the bush. The sooner they got this out of the way, the better.

‘Tom, I’m sorry you found out the way you did. It’s not a secret - well, not a secret to the cast and crew but-’

Tom cut him off by shaking his head and waving his large hand.

‘It’s alright - Bradley spoke to me already, and the boys brought me up to speed. You don’t have to worry on my account’.

Colin smiled gratefully at him, as Rupert swung an arm around his shoulders.

‘He’s on the inside now, Col. We won’t screw this up’, he said kindly.

‘I think he’s getting enough screwing from old Bradders anyway, Rupe’, Eoin sniggered.

Tom heaved out a laugh as Rupert chuckled along with Eoin, and Colin could feel the heat searing up to his face as he smiled abashedly at his bowl of soup.

At that moment Bradley and Angel came over to the table and sat down - Bradley next to Colin and Angel next to Eoin.

‘So what’s the joke then?’ Angel asked, looking around at them.

‘Nothing’, Colin replied, as Bradley looked from him to Eoin, then to Tom and then connected the dots. He half-smiled as he too, turned his attention to the cup of coffee in front of him. Andreas had worked him hard at rehearsals in the morning, and then he had spent the last three hours in his chainmail, trying in vain to get his horse to move in the right direction. His knee nudged Colin's lightly under the table, but beyond that, they didn't say or do anything that would even remotely betray their true relationship.

The conversation at the table moved to a general discussion about the day’s scenes, the cryptic dragon and Camelot’s frankly useless armed guards. There was no more need to talk about what had happened. No one made a big deal out of it apart from the occasional double entendre joke. Colin liked it that way. He and Bradley - they knew what they had and were secure in that knowledge, and they rarely ever indulged in out-and-out public displays of affection. When he finished his soup, he made his excuses and got up from the table, lightly ruffling the hair at the base of Bradley’s neck as he walked past him.


End file.
